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About the Author

Yvette Alt Miller earned her B.A. at Harvard University. She completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Jewish Studies at Oxford University, and has a Ph.D. In International Relations from the London School of Economics. She lives with her family in Chicago, and has lectured internationally on Jewish topics. Her book Angels at the table: a Practical Guide to Celebrating Shabbat takes readers through the rituals of Shabbat and more, explaining the full beautiful spectrum of Jewish traditions with warmth and humor. It has been praised as "life-changing", a modern classic, and used in classes and discussion groups around the world.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 16

(13)
Hinda,
May 28, 2015 4:22 PM

Wonderful infographic showing everything so clearly! Kol Tuv.

(12)
maria,
May 16, 2015 10:12 PM

great information about the wall

(11)
Susan Rubinstein,
May 15, 2015 8:23 PM

I'm taking my son soon to Israel and can't wait to go to the wall.

My trip is just 2 weeks so I won't be able to do the 40 day thing..i needed to do that several years ago...but I will tell my son how my Dad (his grandpa) descends from the kohanim who prayed there....He will be amazed by it I'm sure. My first trip to the Wall was as a child with my Dad (a kohane) in 1972..May he rest in peace now..I will go there and pray for his soul and for messiah to come so he can live again. Amen

(10)
Anonymous,
May 14, 2015 6:25 PM

40 days at the kottel

I personally took a few months off from my work to pray at the kottel for 40 days. Not only did I get my long awaited wish answered immediately, but also I feel it is my biggest accomplishment in life. I established a one on one personal relationship with G-d, and that remains with me all the time, through my ups and downs of life. Thanks for all the info, but I think the most important is that you feel Hashem's Presence there like nowhere else.

(9)
Edward,
September 7, 2014 2:05 PM

Wonderful article

(8)
Renée,
June 6, 2014 6:25 PM

I love all the infographics.

They make terrific posters for the (home)schoolroom.

(7)
Anonymous,
June 1, 2014 7:21 AM

The Western Wall

I would like to see a muslim person's comment(s) on this article. Remember, we Jews have no historical connection to the Western Wall or the Temple mount or to Jerusalem.

Dvirah,
May 15, 2015 10:03 AM

Huh?!!?

On what basis do you make such an egregious comment? Didnt' this article just explain our historical connection? Or do you believe the Tanach - in which Moslems also believe - is entirely fiction? Or - hopefully - you are just being sarcastic? At any rate, there is plenty of archelogical evidence for the Jewish connection with Jerusalem - some of which they are busy destroying, the rest of which they are busy denying.

Catrina,
May 17, 2015 12:00 AM

Spoof ?

I think he or she was spoofing that egregious claim asserted by Hamas and too many other such organisations . At any rate , I perceived irony .

Yaakov,
May 17, 2015 7:38 AM

Dvirah, relax, it was sarcasm

The comment was clearly sarcastic, as the commenter was 'challenging' those moslems who deny our connection to the Wall and to Jerusalem. But, rest assured, even the facts presented in this article would not succeed in convincing them; those with an agenda are not persuaded by facts. As the famous saying goes, 'A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still'.

(6)
David S. Levine,
May 29, 2014 11:37 PM

A Great Overview of History

EVERY reader should send this on to everybody on his or her mail list.

(5)
Fred Campbell,
May 28, 2014 12:10 AM

Jerusalem, our mutual heritage

I am a Christian.I share the desire for Jerusalem (and the Temple) to be restored, forever, as the spiritual and political capitol for Jews and of Judaism.May our God, in his infinite mercy and grace, permit it to happen.

(4)
Judith,
May 27, 2014 7:49 PM

The Western Wall

Thank you for the history and presentation. The whole wide world needs to know the information that is contained within this power point view. Excellent!

(3)
Anonymous,
May 27, 2014 6:35 PM

Great Summary

Perfect summary in a clear, concise, and understandable format. Excellent! Great pictures, graphs, and comments. All we need to know in just a couple of minutes!

I've been striving to get more into spirituality. But it seems that every time I make some progress, I find myself slipping right back to where I started. I'm getting discouraged and feel like a failure. Can you help?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Spiritual slumps are a natural part of spiritual growth. There is a cycle that people go through when at times they feel closer to God and at times more distant. In the words of the Kabbalists, it is "two steps forward and one step back." So although you feel you are slipping, know that this is a natural process. The main thing is to look at your overall progress (over months or years) and be able to see how far you've come!

This is actually God's ingenious way of motivating us further. The sages compare this to teaching a baby how to walk. When the parent is holding on, the baby shrieks with delight and is under the illusion that he knows how to walk. Yet suddenly, when the parent lets go, the child panics, wobbles and may even fall.

At such times when we feel spiritually "down," that is often because God is letting go, giving us the great gift of independence. In some ways, these are the times when we can actually grow the most. For if we can move ourselves just a little bit forward, we truly acquire a level of sanctity that is ours forever.

Here is a practical tool to help pull you out of the doldrums. The Sefer HaChinuch speaks about a great principle in spiritual growth: "The external awakens the internal." This means that although we may not experience immediate feelings of closeness to God, eventually, by continuing to conduct ourselves in such a manner, this physical behavior will have an impact on our spiritual selves and will help us succeed. (A similar idea is discussed by psychologists who say: "Smile and you will feel happy.")

That is the power of Torah commandments. Even if we may not feel like giving charity or praying at this particular moment, by having a "mitzvah" obligation to do so, we are in a framework to become inspired. At that point we can infuse that act of charity or prayer with all the meaning and lift it can provide. But if we'd wait until being inspired, we might be waiting a very long time.

May the Almighty bless you with the clarity to see your progress, and may you do so with joy.

In 1940, a boatload 1,600 Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler's ovens was denied entry into the port of Haifa; the British deported them to the island of Mauritius. At the time, the British had acceded to Arab demands and restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The urgent plight of European Jewry generated an "illegal" immigration movement, but the British were vigilant in denying entry. Some ships, such as the Struma, sunk and their hundreds of passengers killed.

If you seize too much, you are left with nothing. If you take less, you may retain it (Rosh Hashanah 4b).

Sometimes our appetites are insatiable; more accurately, we act as though they were insatiable. The Midrash states that a person may never be satisfied. "If he has one hundred, he wants two hundred. If he gets two hundred, he wants four hundred" (Koheles Rabbah 1:34). How often have we seen people whose insatiable desire for material wealth resulted in their losing everything, much like the gambler whose constant urge to win results in total loss.

People's bodies are finite, and their actual needs are limited. The endless pursuit for more wealth than they can use is nothing more than an elusive belief that they can live forever (Psalms 49:10).

The one part of us which is indeed infinite is our neshamah (soul), which, being of Divine origin, can crave and achieve infinity and eternity, and such craving is characteristic of spiritual growth.

How strange that we tend to give the body much more than it can possibly handle, and the neshamah so much less than it needs!